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Ok, so, apologies in advance for posting a really boring sweatshirt today, but, I feel like this post is warranted for two reasons – really awesome fabric, and a previously overlooked version of a pattern.

Honestly, this might be my new favorite fabric at Mood (up there in the ranks with their Bamboo Jersey and Organic Cotton twill). AND they have plenty of colors still in stock (although as of this posting, currently sold out of this particular green – sorry!)! It’s a Christmas Miracle!

In all seriousness, though, I wanted to really focus on the fabric for this post. I promise it’s a really good one and worth the praise! I found this Moss Bamboo and Cotton Stretch Fleece on the Mood Fabric’s website a few months ago, via swatch (I always take advantage of my free swatches and usually end up throwing random stuff in my cart before I place my order! I have discovered some REALLY cool fabrics that way that I might have otherwise overlooked). I’m not even kidding when I say it’s one of my new favorite fabrics – they have loads of colorways and it’s nice and wide (60″) so you need less yardage.

The fabric is comprised of 66% bamboo, 28% cotton, and 6% spandex. That little bit of spandex is essential for giving the fabric a great stretch with a fabulous recovery. Plus, I really love bamboo fabrics – they are soft, easy to wash and wear, and they are antimicrobial so they have fantastic stink-reducing properties!

This fabric is considered a sweatshirt fleece, meaning it is has one side that is nice and smooth and the opposite side is soft and brushed. Unlike your typical sweatshirt fleece, it’s a slightly lighter weight with a softer drape. It is also a 4 way stretch, which, WEIRDLY (don’t ask me why, I couldn’t tell you) has more stretch along the grain rather than the crossgrain (if I recall, 40% at the cross grain and something like 80% along the grain). It’s soft (did I mention that it’s soft? Because it is FUCKING SOFT), it snaps back into shape, and it comes in a nice array of colors – what isn’t there to love?

This sweatshirt is actually the second garment I made using this fleece – my first garment was a pair of black Virginia leggings. I don’t have any photos of those – let’s be real, they are black leggings and basically impossible to photograph – but I wear them ALL THE TIME (here is a photo on my Instagram – I’d already been wearing them for 3 days at that point haha). Think of your favorite fleece leggings or tights – and then just imagine them in bamboo instead of poly (so no stink and no pilling). Because of the spandex, the fabric doesn’t bag out – meaning no baggy knees or butts. Also, in retrospect – they look pretty much the same as the pants I am wearing (the Cecilia Pant from Elizabeth Suzann – aka my MAGIC PANTS seriously you guys these pants are magical), so maybe I should have just worn the leggings for this photo!

So anyway, about this project! After my success with the leggings, I bought 2 more yards of this hunter green colorway without a real idea of what I wanted to make with it. I knew I wanted a sweatshirt, but a plain sweatshirt seemed like such a cop-out. So I went with the Sewaholic Fraser Sweatshirt.

I will be completely honest – I did NOT like this particular view of the Fraser when I first saw it (or, to be even more honest – any subsequent versions that I’ve seen since). I dunno, the super contrast yoke just looks unflatteringly Western to me (and I typically love me some Western wear) – very costume-y, very Wonder Woman. I had no intentions of ever sewing up that version (I do like the other versions – you can see the one I made with a collar here), but weirdly, I thought of it when I was trying to decide what to do with this fleece. I thought it might look good with the contrast just being the wrong fuzzy side of the fabric, so the color still matched but there would be some subtle texture differences (again, just like my version with the collar). I’m actually pretty pleased with the end result – it’s still a nice sweatshirt but with a little more interest… and it doesn’t look costume-y. And I have worn it every day this week, no lie, so obviously it’s a massive success in my book haha.

I made a size 0 and slimmed down the hips (Sewaholic Patterns are designed for pear-shaped women, and I’ve found I don’t need the extra room down there). I also cut this on the lengthwise grain, instead of the crossgrain – remember when I said the fabric had more stretch on the lengthwise grain? I think it would work either way, but I wanted a reeeeeally stretchy, comfy sweatshirt! Shortened the sleeves about 1″… they are still slightly long, but in my experience it’s better to keep them long and allow for a little more shrinkage, then re-hem if necessary. I have waaaay too much bracelet-length sleeves as a result of not being aware of this for the first half of my sewing career haha.

I did have to pay careful attention to the stitching at the center front V, as well as matching the sleeve contrast seam to the bodice contrast seam – for those, I based first on my sewing machine (much easier to take the stitches out if you mess it up) before using my serger. I used the single needle chainstitch on my coverstitch machine to topstitch the contrast, to give it a little more dimension. Other than that, a very quick and easy sew! I did notice the the fleece flattens when you press it, but it’s easy to fluff back up with your fingers.

Anyway, that’s all for this one! A simple project, but also a big gushy heart-eyes love song about some amazing fabric! Now, quick, y’all need to buy it before I snap up the rest of this stuff! 🙂

** Note: The fabric used for this post was provided to me by Mood Fabrics, in exchange for my participation in the Mood Sewing Network. All opinions are my own!

Also, in case you were wondering – yes, I took these immediately after the photos from my last post. Just pulled the sweatshirt on over what I was already wearing! Haha!

This is the Fraser Sweatshirt from Sewaholic Patterns. I have actually made this top before – I used a beautiful marled French Terry from Metro Textiles and it’s soooo soft and cozy – but this is my first post about it. I don’t normally dedicate a post strictly to something as plain at a knit top, as I personally find it a little boring – but I do think this one deserves its own very short post. So there you go. I finished this way back in August and have worn it loads since.

Anyway, Fraser! I think this pattern got a bit overlooked – I certainly overlooked it at first. It’s pretty similar to the Renfrew Top – albeit with a higher neckline, a little more ease (to allow for sewing out of a bulkier fabric) and some style variations. I didn’t care much for the style variations, personally – not a fan of that western contrast yoke, and really falling out of love with twee collars on everything. I liked the plain version, and like I said – I made it up and really enjoy wearing it – but I don’t know if the plain version alone really justifies buying the pattern if you already have the Renfrew (FWIW, Tasia gifted me these patterns, although she did made it very clear she was not expecting a review post in exchange). With that being said, I loved Amanda’s collared version the second I saw it, and filed it away for future consideration.

For fabric, I used a grey sweatshirt knit that has been in my stash for a few years. I’m not 100% on where it’s from, but my best guess is that I bought it at Paron’s in NYC. It’s a little lighter and stretchier than a true sweatshirt fleece – it almost feels like scuba with fleece on one side.

I wanted my collar to be more subtle than straight-up color-blocking, so I simply used the wrong side of my main fabric. In theory, it seemed like a really cool idea – the wrong side is fuzzy, so there’d be some unexpected texture there. In practice, it looks very much the same as the right side, unless you’re actually touching it. So my inset collar is even less of a contrast than I was anticipating, although I don’t think this is a bad thing. I actually do like the way it turned out!

Anyway, I topstitched around the collar with a straight stitch to really bring out the seam lines and help everything lay flat. I love the effect, especially how it looks with another collared shirt peeking out from underneath, inception-style 😛

Pattern-wise, not much to report. I made a size 0, which is my usual Sewaholic size. I assembled the shirt with a serger, although I used my sewing machine to sew the collar in first so I could easily unpick if I messed something up (I just went over the seams again with my serger once I knew everything was good). Actually, the serged seams on the collar look REALLY cool and I almost let that be the right side… maybe for the next top. Who knows!

I did have to do a little tracing to get those long sleeves. The pattern comes with 3 sleeve options, but the long sleeves have that yoke on top of them. The yoke-less sleeves are 3/4 and short, both of which I feel are useless for a sweatshirt. I simply combined the top of the 3/4 sleeve with the bottom of the yoked sleeve, to make a plain long sleeve. Not difficult to do at all.

Interestingly, I found the hips to be too wide in the first version I made of this pattern – there were super A-line on me (not surprising, considering I’m not a pear shape and this pattern is drafted for someone who is) and I had to take in the sides quite a bit to make them more straight – but on this current version, they are fine. I am guessing my fabric choice had something to do with this, because I didn’t alter the actual pattern pieces. This knit is way softer and stretchier than the French terry I used for my first version, which makes the sides hang better.

Anyway, I don’t have anything else to say about this top sooooo I guess that’s it!